The Best Day
by DiaDuitCluaiste
Summary: A pregnant!Gwen one-shot. Her internal ramblings and then Arthur's reaction to the news. Arthur/Gwen. Obvious pregnancy/baby theme. I'm an aspiring writer so please review! New chapter - the birth/naming of the baby. Maybe more to come!
1. Chapter 1

**Note to readers: Seeing as, due to the legend and various other factors, Gwen and Arthur will probably never have children in the show, I thought that I would take it upon myself to write a fan fiction about it. I thought that it's be really cute, but very awkward. So, here it is! I hope you like it and do tell me what you think; I'm an aspiring writer and so feedback, however critical, is very much appreciated. Cheerio!**

Gwen watched herself in the mirror. Taking a deep breath, she repeated the phrase that she'd been rehearsing for the past half hour.

"Arthur, I'm pregnant."

Gwen shook her head, closing her eyes and looking intently down at her shoes. She felt stupid. She felt embarrassed. And, more importantly, she felt vulnerable. She really hated herself at the moment. Why was she so bloody spineless? What happened to all that bravado that Arthur had encouraged? Buggeration.

Absentmindedly, the young queen stroked the small bump on her front. He hadn't noticed. They shared a bed, and he hadn't noticed. Gwen was so close to just forgetting about her plan and waiting until he realised what had changed by himself. Maybe it was better that way… Oh, how would she know? She'd never done this before.

For some reason, Gwen blamed herself for the predicament that she was now in. Maybe there was something she should have done. They'd only been married a year. He hadn't even begun to hint at wanting an heir. It was too soon.

But she was still happy, of course she was. Who wouldn't be? The only thing she was worried about was his reaction. And the chance that she could be dead within a year. But that was beside the point. It was him she was worried about really.

She'd spent the past hour planning what she was going to say and, after much pacing and unnecessary crying, she'd only got as far as "Arthur, I'm pregnant." She'd been repeating it ever since. By now it was ingrained in her speech pattern and she was sure that if anyone asked her a question, that one phrase would be pretty much all she could manage.

Looking back up to the reflective glass sheet before her, Gwen scowled at the sight of her own pathetic image. She was as pale as a sheet, so pale that she seemed to glow in the dusky light; the candles in the brackets weren't lit yet. A clanging from down the corridor made Gwen jump. She assured herself that he would be a while longer yet, that's what he'd told her.

But sudden approaching footsteps suggested otherwise. Gwen's heart immediately jumped to her throat and her breathing began to decline rapidly in efficiency. She was half-way between having a panic attack and vomiting.

The footsteps drew closer and within seconds they were right outside the door. She heard the handle turn and the door creak open. Before she could stop herself, Gwen closed her eyes and spun around, crying out as loud as she could.

"Arthur, I'm pregnant."

There was an awkward silence and Gwen kept her eyes forced shut. There was a scuffing of shoes against the floor and her breath hitched in anticipation of some form of response.

"Um, Gwen?"

Well, that wasn't Arthur. Gwen immediately opened her eyes at the revelation. Stood uneasily half-way inside the room was Merlin. Gwen's heart fluttered in some form of relief.

"I thought you were Arthur." She commented gently, reaching one hand behind her back to support her apparently ever increasing weight, and using the other to clutch her stomach.

"Yeah, I got that." Merlin said with a friendly smile, "He'll only be a minute. I was just coming to see whether you needed anything." Gwen shook her head.

"No, thank you, Merlin." She responded quickly, now more eager than ever to get this over with.

"Alright." Merlin said simply, pausing before commenting excitedly, "Congratulations." Gwen was about to smile in appreciation of the statement, but her gesture was rendered useless as recognisably heavier footsteps echoed into the room. The young manservant's head whipped around.

"Good luck." Merlin said, slipping out of the room with a comforting smile.

No more than a few seconds later, the king stepped into his chambers. He closed the door behind him and threw a smile to his wife as he began to remove his scabbard. Gwen stayed motionless in the middle of the room, watching as her husband fiddled with the buckle of his belt before he threw it carelessly onto the wooden table. He took a drink of water from the goblet on the table casually. It took him an irritatingly long time to notice Gwen's discomfort.

He paused his activities and looked at her questioningly.

"Are you alright, Guinevere." He asked gently. Gwen opened her mouth to speak. But she couldn't. No sound came out, despite how much she wanted it to. She huffed in frustration and stamped her foot slightly on the floor in an attempt to force her words out. The king watched her in bemusement and made his way slowly around the pillar to stand a few metres before her, wisely allowing her enough space to breathe. Swinging the goblet carelessly around in his hand, he was about to make another comment when Gwen raised her finger in a silencing motion and turned so that her back was to him. She took a deep breath.

"Arthur, I'm pregnant."

There was a few seconds delay before she heard the clatter of the goblet falling to the floor and the sloshing of the water tipping from it. She turned to look at him.

Arthur was stood in the middle of the room, completely stock-still. His expression was blank, unreadable, yet his eyes were wide in some form of child-like shock. Neither of them spoke for what seemed like hours. Gwen couldn't take it.

"Arthur?" she asked cautiously.

That was all the encouragement he needed.

Slowly raising his hand, Arthur first pointed to Gwen's stomach, watching it warily, before pointing to himself and asking, "Mine?" Gwen couldn't help but laugh.

"Of course it's yours." She said softly, stepping forwards.

"Mine?" he repeated incredulously. Raising an eyebrow, she spoke again.

"Don't be daft; who else's would it be?" she said. Seemingly not having a reply to that, the young king moved onto his next question.

"I'm going to be a father?" he asked quietly. Gwen smiled, moving forwards and taking his hand. Gently, she pressed it to her stomach. At first, Arthur flinched away. But then he began rubbing her small bump carefully. He did this for a short while before retracting his hand and taking a step back.

He gazed at her stomach.

"That's my baby." He finally commented as he indicated to it. Arthur let out a single laugh, "This is the best day of my life."

Soundlessly, Gwen agreed.


	2. Chapter 2

**Note to readers: I know that I said it would only a one-shot, but I couldn't help it - they're so damn cute. I might do some more one shots after this. Depends on what people say and want and what I can think of to write. I really hope you guys like this. Remember, feed back - good or bad - is always appreciated! Thank you!**

The screams and groans stopped. Arthur looked to Merlin, and the manservant gazed back. The silence was unnerving and the king's heart was in his mouth. Footsteps sounded and the door swung open. Gaius could hardly suppress his smile as he spoke.

"You can come in now." Arthur, however, was more distracted by the colourful variety of fluids splattered on the cloth the physician was wiping his hands with. Acid bubbled in his throat.

"Is – is she alright?" He stammered. Gaius nodded.

"For what she's been through – yes." Arthur swallowed loudly and Gaius stepped to the side to let him pass. The king didn't move until Merlin gave him a solid but gentle push forwards.

The soft glow of the candles couldn't even calm Arthur as he walked across his chambers shakily and over to where his wife was propped up in bed. Three maids fussed about in the corner, clearing up piles of towels and basins of water. When they saw him they curtsied and left with their arms full. Arthur smiled queasily at Gwen as she looked up from admiring the tiny bundle in her arms. She smiled back and patted the bed beside her. He glanced back to Merlin who, still standing in the doorway, gave the king an encouraging nod, so he sat obediently next to his wife.

Not quite knowing what to do, Arthur kissed the top of her head. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see his manservant edging closer into the room, but he didn't give Merlin any thought. At the angle he was at, Arthur couldn't see the face of the new baby, only a chubby little fist waving about in the air, almost teasingly. He squirmed a little, shifting anxiously and peering over his wife's shoulder, trying to see past the abundant layers of cloth.

"Is it…?"

"It's a boy."

"Can I…?"

Slowly and carefully, Gwen took her arms from around the baby and slid her hands beneath his back and head. She wobbled slightly as she lifted him in Arthur's direction and held him in the air, waiting for her husband to step in. But he didn't. He gaped at the baby and did nothing. He didn't know how.

"Arthur?" At the sound of his name, the king stretched his arms towards his son and let them hover on either side of the baby's body. After a few seconds he changed position so that both of his arms were beneath, then above, and then back to the sides. Gwen sighed and shoved the baby as roughly as she could into his arms, causing Arthur to cradle him instinctively. For a moment he was surprised at how natural it felt, but then he saw his son's face.

All the air was taken from his lungs as if he had been winded and his eyes widened. The tiny prince gazed back up at him with that same look of awe. He could already see that he had Gwen's nose, but the rest of him was Arthur – the shape of his face, the tuft of blonde hair and his vivid blue eyes.

"Hello." Arthur whispered, taking the baby's tiny hand in his, "Hello. I'm your daddy." The little prince gurgled happily in approval and Arthur felt his legs squirm beneath the cloth. He panicked for a moment, his heart leaping as he gripped the baby tighter in fear that he would drop him. The prince whimpered a little, sensing his father's apprehension. Regaining control of himself, Arthur took his less-occupied hand and touched his son's nose. He didn't quite know why he did it. It was as if he just wanted to check that the baby was real, that it wasn't all a figment of his imagination.

He felt Gwen's hand on his arm.

"What do you want to call him?" She asked. Arthur felt he should've looked to his wife, but he just couldn't tear his eyes from his son's face, "Or do you want to wait a little, get to know him better."

"I feel like I've known him my whole life." The king's words came out as a hoarse whisper. He was in awe.

"Do you have anything in mind?"

"Llachau. Or Amhar." Arthur said. He saw Gwen nod her head thoughtfully. Finally, he took his eyes from the baby and looked at her, "What do you think?"

"I think, Amr – son of Arthur." Arthur smiled.

"I love it." He kissed his wife gently on the lips. Well, at least, that's how it started. They became more and more passionate by the second. They hadn't been together for almost the whole of Gwen's pregnancy, so he could hardly help it.

A purposeful cough sounded from a few feet away and Arthur looked up crossly into the eyes of his manservant.

"Yes?"

"Can I hold him?" Merlin asked, clearly itching with excitement. The king glared at his friend and Merlin only watched him with wide eyes.

"No."

"Arthur." Gwen said.

"You've seen how clumsy he is! There's no way I'm letting him hold my son."

"Yes, but this is a _baby_. I won't drop him." Merlin argued convincingly.

"_Arthur_." Gwen urged him quietly. The king sighed.

"Fine." He replied, "But if you so much as harm a hair on his head, I will make your guts into Merlin soup." The manservant snorted, making his way over.

Arthur stood carefully. He was not happy about this. Merlin was a complete klutz at the best of times. But to his surprise, Merlin took little Amr from his master's arms before he'd even had a chance to extend them. The manservant cradled the prince with ease, grinning happily from ear to ear and bouncing up and down gently. Arthur watched him in stunned silence. Merlin looked up.

"What?"

"How?" Arthur said, unable to get anything more comprehensible out.

"I used to take care of the village children at harvest while their parents worked." Merlin explained.

"Oh, good." Arthur said sarcastically, "You can babysit then."

"Can I?" Merlin asked hopefully. Arthur gritted his teeth.

"_No_."


End file.
